Thursday, August 12, 2010

Over the hump.

Did anyone else sense that the back of the summer was broken (snap!) about a week ago?

I couldn't help but to notice. From a sweltering 100+ to a cool 85* is impossible to ignore. I'm sure there'll be a bit more heat, and maybe even humidity, but we're clearly heading down into fall and to that myself and the rest of my fellow desert dwellers say Hell yeah!

The drop in temps allowed us to do something pretty much unheard of in summer: ride (comfortably!) deep into the afternoon. L and I headed to a favorite local trail and did some ledge sessioning both uphill and down. Nothing epic or brutal or awful about the ride--just lots and lots of good solid fun.

There was one small section that L couldn't quite wrap her head around. She attempted it from several different angles but was never 100% confident that she was on her game enough to pull it off. So she'd roll the approach (smoother each time) then clamp on the binders, curse at herself, then head up for another go.

Here she's getting into character and preparing to head down for one more shot at it:

No pics of the successful execution (the photogeek was needed as spotter--just in case...) but she smoothed it and spent the rest of the day 'giddy' as a result. Nice.

I also managed to do the first (of, hopefully, many) afternoon rides with the Tweedles.

Great to get back on that program, and maaaaan am I looking forward to continuing that tradition over the next few months. Great riders push you to become better than you are, and better than you think you can be. Call me a sponge--the shoe fits.

Lastly, the week wouldn't have been complete without a Fishin' with Fang (and L!) fix...